Welcome to the Academy
by Lady Illusia
Summary: Hidden Leaf Academy, or the Academy, as it's called by students, is the prestigious boarding school in the heart of the bustling city Konoha. It's where average teenager Yuzuki is going to be attending school; returning home after being away for ten years. Here she meets a whole bunch of strange people that turn her world upside down and almost help her forget her dark past.
1. Locke House

**A/N: I know there are a lot of these floating around, but I wanted to put my own in. I'm going to try and make it good and as normal as possible; so that people relate to it a bit. I'm also going to try and put everyone in this. And of course I will explain about the world a little bit in the story. I also felt that making my OC best friends with an already established character was kinda meh, so I made two! That way they could be best friends.**

**Anyways enjoy! Please review, I would love your thoughts.**

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_The beast crept closer and closer, rounding on the frightened girl like a serpent. It could hear her huffs and whimpers as her steel blue eyes scanned the area. The beast was certain that her heart was slamming against her chest. Oh her beating heart. How the beast wanted to sink its razor sharp teeth into such delicate meat; feeling it pounding away at its tongue. A long, slick and slimy tongue snaked out of its mouth to lick its lips in hunger. It would devour the girl this night, of that it was certain._

"Next stop, Konoha. All those exiting the train make sure to check your seats and underneath for any items you may leave behind. Exit to your left and we thank you for riding with us today." The sound of the P.A. system brought a pair of red eyes up from their book.

Half mooned, red glasses dipped along the bridge of their nose as the face of a teenage girl brought itself out of fantasy and back to reality. Pushing her glasses back up, she shut her book and swung the strap of her duffle bag over her shoulder. Getting up from her seat, her long, mint green ponytail swished against her back. The red plaid dress she wore creased at the hem with each step she took to maneuver her way around people. She had no idea the train ride back home would have been so short; then again, she had been sucked into her book. Anything was possible when she stuffed her nose into one of her books.

Standing in front of one of the many doors, she gripped the metal bar beside her as the train came to a stop, gravity pushing at her body a little. Half a second after the train came to a stop, the doors open and she stepped off. Her black ankle boots stomped onto the platform making sure not to bump into anyone and clutching her book tightly as she strode away from the train. It felt so strange being back in Konoha after nearly ten years away. She had grown up here until she was six and then moved away. The only reason she was back now, was because her grandparents, where she had been living, passed away recently. With nowhere else to go, she came back to the only other place she knew.

"Yuzuki!" a cheerfully loud voice called from over the crowd. Red eyes passed over the hundreds of people walking by to see a girl standing near the street with big sapphire blue eyes and long peach colored hair put up in a half ponytail. She was waving at her so happily that a smile formed on her lips.

"Hi Miyako!" she cooed right back as she jogged her way through the crowd to meet with the girl.

When the mint haired girl finally reached her friend, the girls hugged. "Man, I thought you were going to take all day from how long I've been standing here!" Miyako huffed as they parted.

"How long have you been standing here?" Yuzuki asked, her ponytail dipping over her shoulder as she tilted her head curiously. "I mean, I told you what time I was supposed to arrive."

Miyako shrugged casually, "About two hours." The stunned look on her best friend's face made her chuckle. "I was excited to see you! I mean, we haven't seen each other in so long." The peach haired girl excitedly flung herself onto her friend in a sisterly hug.

"Gah!" Yuzuki gasped as she was nearly tackled from the sheer force of the hug.

Miyako may look small and frail with her petite frame, but she was nothing of the sort. The girl was a powerhouse of energy. She stood a good two or three inches taller than Yuzuki at five foot five, while the other was a measly five foot two. Her one hundred and twenty-seven pound body was all muscle from years of playing sports and taking martial arts. She was a girl who enjoyed anything that involved huge explosions and fight sequences. It was odd though, she was so fit but ate like a morbidly obese person on their death bed. It was like Miyako was never full with how much she would eat her weight in food.

Miyako let go of the gasping girl and gripped her hands, "Come on. Mom and dad are just dying to see you again! You're all they've talked about all summer." Without letting Yuzuki protest, she dragged the girl out of the train station.

As she was forcibly removed from the station, Yuzuki mentally praised herself for deciding to send all of her stuff ahead before her arrival today. With how Miyako was, she had anticipated that the girl would forget all about her stuff and drag her off into the city. It had been years since she's been home so it was all possible that everything had changed. Red orbs shifted to her best friend's back, peering at the excited smile that tugged at her lips as her focus was on what was ahead of them. She was happy to be home, to be with Miyako again but there were too many memories here that she wanted to forget. Yuzuki hopped that by starting over, again, she would be able to come to terms with, or at the very least forget, her past.

The teen squeaked as she ran into her friend's back. Rubbing her nose and fixing her glasses, she looked up to see a large building in front of them with a large sign surrounded by dark lights. A glare from her spectacles momentarily blinded her as she tried to read the sign; 'Locke House'. That was Miyako's last name. Was this her parent's restaurant? Yuzuki remembered when their restaurant was nothing but a small hole in the wall diner that barely had enough tables to sit twenty people. Obviously that wasn't the case any longer.

"Wow! When did you guys get this place?" Yuzuki asked in amazement.

Miyako shrugged, "Couple years ago." She paused for a moment to think. "Maybe like, five years now?" Before the mint haired girl could reply with awe, Miyako was practically throwing her inside.

"Ack! Miyako!" she pouted as she stumbled through the door, dropping her book. Kneeling down to pick it up, she was mere millimeters away when Miyako hoisted her back to her feet.

"Mom! Dad! Guess who I found hanging around the train station!" she called over the many tables of people, loud enough to drown out all their talking.

Everyone's eyes turned to stare at them making Yuzuki look down at her lone book on the floor. "Miyako…everyone's staring."

A woman with bright blonde hair and big blue eyes pushed her way out from the back. The moment her eyes fell upon the teens standing by the door, she threw everything in her hands away. "Oh my goodness! Honey look, it's Yuzuki!" she bound her way to the girls with energy Yuzuki didn't know she had.

"Uh…" her red eyes widened in panic as the older woman came barreling for her. Yuzuki yelped as she was tackled and then restrained in a bone breaking hug, "Hello Mrs. Locke." It was obvious where Miyako got all her energy and strength from.

A man peered out from behind the swinging door that led to the kitchen, his chocolate brown hair a mess and matching eyes tired. "Yuzuki, is that you?" He smiled in amusement as he watched his wife squeeze the poor teen to death.

"Hi Mr. Locke," she tried to wave to him, but her arms were strapped to her sides.

"Honey, let her go. You're embarrassing the girl in front of the customers," he muttered as he walked back through the door.

Mrs. Locke put her down, glaring over her shoulder at her husband, "Oh rain on my reunion!" Turning her attention back to the best friend of her daughter, she chuckled at the red face she had, "Ah well, it was nice to see you again Yuzuki. I'm so glad you're home."

Miyako leaned over as her mother made her way back towards the kitchen, "Don't get so embarrassed. The customers are used to this kind of stuff by now."

"Hey honey!" Miyako's mom called, hearing all the way from the front of the restaurant.

"Really?" Yuzuki questioned glancing over to her friend. Her eyes traveled around the floor and sure enough, everyone was minding their own business after their initial staring.

"Miyako! What's wrong with you?" her mother shouted, looking out at her daughter from a window that peered into the kitchen. "I've been shouting at you forever!"

"Whatdya want!" Miyako shouted back with a slight irritated growl.

"Some of your friends from school are here! Yuzuki should meet them." There was a moment of silence, which allowed Yuzuki to finally pick up her book. "Also, what do you guys want to eat?"

The peach haired girl hummed a sigh as she rolled her eyes. "The usual!" She ignored her mother's reply and looked at Yuzuki, "Come, let's go find their table."

"Who's?" she asked as she was once again being dragged around.

"My friends from school. You'll be meeting them soon but it always helps to have friends before school starts so you don't feel so outta place." Miyako stopped suddenly, once again causing Yuzuki to bump into her.

"Miyako, could you stop doing that?" she mumbled as she looked at her friend and the face she was making.

Miyako was stiff as a board. Rigid like a dead body. Yuzuki eyed her in confusion. She had never seen Miyako this, what was it, nervous? Her big blue eyes were even bigger as she stared ahead of them, a noticeable red blush on her cheeks. Wait! Miyako was blushing! Yuzuki's eyes almost popped out of her skull at seeing such a thing. This was the same girl that threw around guys three times her size like they were stuffed dolls. She always got super excited at something blowing up or burning and hated anything that was considered girly. In movies, she always fast forwarded through the love scenes with a scoff. Yet, here in the middle of this crowded place, she was blushing! The same color as a ripe tomato.

"Miyako…?" she began wearily, as if it were some sick joke. Suddenly she grunted as she was elbowed in the stomach.

"Shut up!" Miyako hissed at her under her breath. "Act natural okay?"

With pain in her eyes from the assault on her gut, Yuzuki looked up at her friend, "What?"

"Act natural, that's Kiba Inuzuka," she replied quickly as if he would hear her f she spoke any slower. By now, she was slapping the back of her into Yuzuki's shoulder as she spoke. What did she hope that would accomplish?

"Who?" by now, Yuzuki was so confused that she thought her head might explode.

"Shh! Just let me do all the talking okay?" Miyako grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her over to the booth table that she had been staring at.

Three pairs of eyes looked up at them as they approached, "Miyako!" the only girl at the table greeted happily, beaming her a smile.

"Hi Hinata, Shino," she greeted happily, eyeing the girl and the young man across from her. "Hi Kiba," she greeted last, her fingers fidgeting secretly at her pockets. Yuzuki leaned over a little, staring at her best friend with bewildered shock at the timidness she was suddenly showing.

"Hello Miyako, it's so nice to see you here. Why? Because this is your second home and only you can really with your parents," Shino greeted back, the lenses of his sunglasses flashing in the sunlight.

"Hey," Kiba greeted casually with a half wave. Yuzuki's eyes drifted from her blushing friend to the boy that was causing such an action from her, and then back to her friend. For a long few minutes her eyes darted between the two before her attention was finally ripped away.

"Hello, who are you?" the bright eyed girl asked, her white-lavender eyes staring directly into Yuzuki's red ones.

Miyako yanked her closer, a big, cheesy grin on her face, "This is Yuzuki! She's going to be attending the Academy with us this year. She's also my best friend." The sudden change of pace from Miyako almost caught her off guard, but she was somewhat used the ever shifting mood swings the girl had.

"That's great!" the girl said with cheer in her voice. She smiled up at Yuzuki and it felt as if the simple gesture was blinding her it was so radiant. "My name is Hinata," she pointed to the young man wearing sunglasses, "This is Shino," then pointed to the one Miyako couldn't look at directly, "And this is Kiba."

Shyly she smiled at everyone, glancing between everyone but never really making eye contact. "It's nice to meet you."

"Everyone scoot in close!" Miyako's mother interrupted as she held a tray of food in her hand, one other waiter behind her. Yuzuki and Miyako looked over their shoulders only to quickly scramble into the booth with the three other teens. "I made a little extra for you guys since you'll be leaving for school tomorrow."

Kiba's jaw dropped at the food coming to them and nearly cried in glee. "Do you think this is enough?" Yuzuki asked sarcastically.

"You know me!" Miyako replied with the dorkiest of smiles.

"Ho-how are we going to afford all this?" Hinata stammered in shock at the amount of food being put on their table.

Mrs. Locke smiled down at them, "Don't worry Hinata. It's all on the house today!"

"What?!" they all heard Miyako's father shout from the back.

The teens looked up at the woman who had a sheepish smile on her face, "Don't worry about him."

"Your mom is really nice Miyako," Hinata said as the woman walked away.

"Yeah, but she's weirder than a cat chasing a pickle," she replied as she began digging into their food. Everyone stared at her strangely for a moment before shaking it off.

Yuzuki looked between the five of them with a soft smile. She wasn't really the extroverted type, but she couldn't deny the feeling of having good company around. Staring across the table, she let her eyes play over the boy named Shino. He was pale, just like her, or maybe even more so. It was hard to tell how tall he was from his sitting position, or even his really see his body in general with the gray hoodie he wore; its hood draped over his head. His black hair was spiky and looked almost like a lazy attempt at an afro, even though from his mysterious demeanor she was sure he wasn't going for that. That mysterious feature of his was only amplified by the sunglasses he wore and his calm tone of voice.

Her eyes flickered to the young man sitting next to him. This Kiba fellow, that Miyako seemed to have some kind of crush on, was currently eyeing the food, trying to decide what to eat first. His dark brown hair was a complete catastrophe compared to Shino's, but it seemed like he didn't care and it suited him. The red markings on his face were strange to her. She couldn't tell if they were face paint or tattoos; but he's too young to be getting tattoos. His eyes were black, but despite that, they seemed to shine as brightly as any other in the summer sunlight. In his casual black shirt, Yuzuki could kind of see why Miyako had a crush on him. He had muscles, a lot of them. He wasn't ripped, or bulging, but you could definitely see them as he moved.

Finally her eyes shifted to the girl sitting next to her. Her skin was pale just like Shino's, Kiba being the tannest out of the whole bunch. Long dark blue locks flowed down her back and framed her sweet, round face. Her dark bangs only seemed to bring out her strikingly kind white eyes with a tinge of lavender. She wasn't overly skinny, but she most definitely wasn't overweight. Hinata was curvy and in all the right places; Yuzuki's eyes landed on her ample bust. She was more than well endowed. It was probable that Hinata was envied by many girls.

"So this is your first year at the Academy right?" Kiba asked, eyeing Yuzuki as he shoved food in his mouth.

She nodded lightly, "I just recently moved back into town."

"From where?" he asked through chewing.

"Kusa." She replied.

"Wow, the country," Hinata breathed, smiling like she was daydreaming about what the country looked like.

"Do ya know who you're roomin' with?" Kiba shot Shino a glare as the two reached for the same item on one of the plates in front of them.

She shook her head. "It's advised you find out quickly," Shino suddenly spoke up. "You may get a roommate you hate, or that hates you. Your roommate might be an enemy masquerading as one of us. Or-" Kiba slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shaddap Shino," he barked. "No need to scare the newbie."

"Don't worry Yuzuki, you're rooming with me. I got the Headmaster to agree to it. You guys know who you're rooming with?" Miyako asked, winking to her best friend and then looking between them.

They all nodded. "I'm with Sakura this year." Hinata spoke up, her voice suddenly sounding shy as she blushed lightly.

Everyone but Yuzuki, and possibly Shino, eyed her playfully. "Make sure to stay clothed at all times Hinata," Miyako began with a devious smirk, "Don't want Naruto bursting in and accidentally seeing something."

Miyako waggled her eyebrows at Hinata who instantly blushed and hid her face. Miyako and Kiba just laughed, "I'm rooming with Shino again. Oh, you know what I heard?" he asked, suddenly a little serious.

"What?" Both Hinata and Miyako were curious, for different reasons. Miyako would listen to anything Kiba had to say and Hinata just wanted to forget about her embarrassing crush on Naruto.

"I heard that Lee is rooming with Gaara this year," he said, his voice full of nothing but seriousness and possibly the slightest hint of worry.

"What?" the two girls were practically jumping over the table. Kiba nodded silently.

"Oh man, poor guy," Hinata said, her eyes showing her concern for the one called Lee.

"Who?" Yuzuki asked, feeling utterly lost in this conversation.

"Gaara Sabaku, he's the resident punk at the Academy," Miyako said from beside Yuzuki. The face she was making was anything but her normal goofy grin. It was serious and dark. "Stay away from him as much as possible, okay Yuzuki."

She nodded slowly.

The rest of their time at the restaurant was spent laughing and enjoying the food. Yuzuki got to know Hinata, Kiba and Shino a little better and enjoyed their company a great deal. Kiba was obviously the resident goofball of their little group, making everyone laugh. She could see why Miyako liked him. Somehow, they had stayed at the restaurant talking well into the night and only parted ways when they were reminded that they all had to go to school to get settled into their dorms the very next day. Miyako and Yuzuki bid farewell to the group and made their way to Miyako's house for the night.

"You're going to like it at the Academy. There's a whole bunch of awesome people like those guys there," Miyako said with her eyes staring up at the stars.

There was a bit of silence as Yuzuki watched her feet, her fingers curling around the strap of her duffle bag. "I hope so."


	2. Dorm 412

**A/N: It's spring break so I'm kind bored tonight, thus chapter 2 so quickly! I'm sorry for any misspelled words. I've got sticky keys and a fast brain; hard to type it all correctly.**

**Enjoy!**

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The next morning was as uneventful as ever. Yuzuki and Miyako got ready, packed the last of their things and got into the car with Mrs. Locke. While the two related women talked loudly to each other about the school year, Yuzuki sat in the back leaning against the arm rest. With her chin in her hand, her red orbs stared out the window at the city that was actually kind of small compared to some. She knew Iwa was far bigger than Konoha and that Kiri was even bigger than Iwa. She had visited both cities once in her life; both trips were with her grandparents. Mindlessly, her fingers came up and played with the key necklace around her neck. I miss you, she thought with a sigh.

Miyako looked back at her best friend and the distant look in her eyes. She noticed her playing with the treasure around her neck and a somber look over took her normally happy one. That necklace meant more to Yuzuki than anything else in the world, even their friendship. The thought caused a painful ping to stab at her heart. She remembered when she stole the necklace and hid it from her in a rage. Yuzuki immediately broke off their friendship when Miyako refused to give it back. Even though she knew what the necklace meant to her best friend, she felt her obsession with it was a little unhealthy. But, she learned her lesson and never again did anything like that.

"Okay girls!" Mrs. Locke's voice snapped both girls back to reality and they looked out the window.

To Miyako, what was before them was nothing new and she casually hopped out of the car. However, to Yuzuki, the scenery was amazing! The school compound was enormous; it took up an entire block! From what she could see from the car, there were three buildings that looked to be five stories high each. Various trees lined the street and courtyard, which were cut in half by a large white brick wall with an equally giant iron rod gate. Slowly opening the car door, she stepped out watching the many students walking onto the compound with bags and friends. Each one was dressed in the required attire for the school. The girls had two choices, a white collared shirt with blue pinstripes, navy blue sweater and black skirt, or navy blue collared shirt with light blue pinstripes, gray sweater and black skirt. The boys had one option, which Yuzuki wasn't complaining about at all. They wore white collared shirts, black vests, black ties, black blazers and pressed black pants. In the summer it was god awful, but it did make them all look handsome.

Miyako came around from the trunk of the car with a bag slung over her shoulder lazily. Readjusting her red spectacles, Yuzuki took in the casual way Miyako used the uniform. With her navy colored shirt untucked, three shirt buttons open, sweater open and sleeves rolled up, she crossed her arms across her chest as she watched everyone around them. She had chosen the darker version of their uniform. It wasn't long before Yuzuki noticed that many of the students were either waving or shouting greetings to Miyako. She sure was popular.

"Hey, you ready to get unpacked?" she asked as she waved goodbye to her mother. "Maybe we can find Kiba and the others."

Yuzuki giggled at the mention of his name.

"Wh-what?!" Miyako asked with a glare and light blush.

"Nothing!" Yuzuki sang, waving her off.

Miyako scoffed, grabbing her friend's wrist, "Just come on."

Yuzuki giggled the whole way as they walked onto the campus. The fact that Miyako was so worked up about something so little only made it worse for her. Stifling her amusement, she looked around at what surrounded her. The front building looked so much bigger now that they were closer to it, but most things do. There were groups of teens talking to each other, most of them looked like they knew each other, but there were a small few that looked just as timid as she might have been if it weren't for her best friend dragging her around. None of the people really stood out to her except a girl with pink hair. She was walking next to two boys, one was blonde and tanned, and the other was pale with black hair and scowling. She took note that a few other girls shot the pinkette a dirty glare as she walked by with the boys. I wonder what that's about, she thought.

"Hey, earth to Yuzuki," Miyako's voice interjected loudly.

Yuzuki whipped her head around to face her best friend, "Hm?"

The peach haired girl sighed, shaking her head, "You're hopeless. I was trying to tell you about the school."

"Oh, uhm…sorry," she apologized with a faint hue on her cheeks.

"Okay, so that first building we just passed is the main building. It has all the home rooms and most of the other classrooms; some were move to another building to make room for all the students. The building directly across the field is the science building where all the labs are and the science classes are held, while beside that is the two story library." Yuzuki's finger moved along with what Miyako was saying as if she was working out the layout of the school in her head.

They stopped in front of a white painted brick building. "Where are we?" Yuzuki craned her neck to look at the entirety of the building.

Miyako followed suit, "This is one of the dorm buildings. There are two," she paused and threw her thumb over her shoulder to point at the matching building beside the one they were standing in front of. "That's the other one. They're called the Gemini Buildings because they look identical." She paused and pulled out a piece of paper from the bag slung over her shoulder, reading it. "Looks like we're in dorm…412 Gemini Building 2."

Without a word, Miyako spun on her heel and, while still reading the paper, walked to the white building beside them. With a small jump, Yuzuki followed after her, having to jog just to catch up with her long strides. To say she was a little overwhelmed might have been an understatement. She had never been to a boarding school, or even a school of this size before! Seeing all the people around her, walking around so casually, made her feel small and out of place. Her last school was tiny; each classroom barely fit thirty kids. This would take some getting used to.

Her hand absently came up to her necklace, as if silently asking it for strength. Quietly, she followed behind Miyako as she read the paper and prodded off about the school some more. Honestly, Yuzuki kind of stopped paying attention less than half way up the stairs. It amazed her that someone as crazy as Miyako was able to have so many friends. In the time it had taken them to get to their floor, she was greeted by thirty different people. She didn't stay to chat with any of them extensively, but it was clear to Yuzuki that she knew all of them very well.

"Here we are, 412!" Miyako gave her a signature goofy grin before throwing open the door.

Red eyes grew wide as they peered into the room; it was the size of a small apartment! The walls were colored a sweet butter cream with plush carpeting to match. The living room wasn't huge, but it was good enough space for two people to move around comfortably. A small bar area cut off the living room to the kitchen which definitely was too small. How they would ever cook in there was something she couldn't even fathom at the moment. Immediately beside the kitchen was the narrow hallway that led to the bedrooms and shared bathroom.

"I call dibs on the room next to the kitchen!" Miyako shouted as she scrambled into the dorm and to the door that led to the room she wanted.

"Of course you would," Yuzuki chuckled with a lazy eye roll and walked in.

She shut the door and heard Miyako shriek like a banshee in happiness. It was obvious that she liked it here. Miyako had loving parents and a warm home, but she always preferred to be away from her parents. She always said that freedom was what she really wanted. Perhaps school was that freedom she could finally have. After all, she did spend her summers and holidays with her parents, along with weekends and worked part-time at the Locke House. No matter how much she might have complained about her parents, she was a doting daughter.

Yuzuki walked to the back room and opened the door. It was a good sized room, big enough for a queen sized bed, desk and a medium sized closet. The paint job and carpet were the same as the rest of the dorm, but it was kind of calming. She noticed her stuff had already been brought up as she threw her bag on the bed and walked to the only window in the room. Unlatching the window, she pushed it open and let the summer air filter through. It was hot outside, but not sweltering so the air felt good. She sighed as she leaned against the frame, staring down at all the people walking around below. Tomorrow was the first day of class and she had no idea what to expect. Were boarding schools any different than normal high schools? What were the people like here? Would she make any friends? Many thoughts raced through her mind as she felt the tiniest of breezes push through her mint colored bangs.

"Hey," Miyako's voice caused Yuzuki to break contact with the outside world and look at her. "Let's go get our keys so we don't get locked out." There was a light _slap_ as she hit the doorframe before leaving.

Wordlessly, she got up and followed after the bouncing teen. With a faint smile, she watched as Miyako skipped down the halls and stairs with a sense of glee that could only be described as a child knowing a secret. Yuzuki felt the nerves of a new student set in when people began to stare at her. Instantly her eyes fell to the floor to avoid looking into their eyes. Was it strange to see Miyako with another student? Or was it her hair? Instinctually her hands reached up to her ponytail, pulling it over her shoulder and running her hands through it as if trying to wipe away the color. She knew it was weird but she couldn't help that she was born that way!

"Ow," she mumbled as she looked up to see Miyako had stopped. "Seriously, quit that." Her red eyes blinked curiously as she noticed that for a split second, Miyako was rigid before calming and continuing on.

"Hey there Gaara," she said, casually leaning against the desk they had come up to. Looking around, Yuzuki noticed they had finally reached the first floor again. Her eyes flickered over to the desk.

Sitting at the curved desk was a young man, more than likely the same age as them. His skin was pale, comparable to Hinata's or her own. Messy red locks sat atop his head without gel or help to be as messy as it was. His sea green eyes were half lidded in either annoyance or boredom, she couldn't tell. On his forehead was a tattoo of the word 'Love' and large black rings around his eyes. Was it makeup? He wasn't wearing the same uniform as the others, in fact, he wasn't wearing a uniform at all. A red plaid shirt sat unbuttoned to expose a black t-shirt underneath. In his ears were several piercings, including an industrial bar. Miyako wasn't kidding when she said he was the resident punk.

"Where's your brother?" she asked, even though it was obvious that everyone else was avoiding the desk because of him sitting there. Some were even whispering as they saw Miyako talking to Gaara so nonchalantly.

He shrugged. "His fat ass went to go get food or something."

"So he left you, of all people, in charge of handing out keys?" She almost laughed if it hadn't been for the glare he gave her. It was a truly terrifying glare, making Yuzuki instantly uncomfortable. "How's that going for you?"

He didn't say a word but scowled at her.

"Yeah, I can see that…" really, she was just talking to herself. "Well, we're here for our keys."

Gaara didn't make any inclination that he was moving to give them the keys to their dorm as he just sat and stared at them blankly. His green eyes wandered over Miyako's shoulder to the green haired girl standing awkwardly behind her. She noticed and tried to hide behind her.

He was about to say something when his brother walked up, "Hey ladies!" A tall brunette stood beside the desk putting down a sandwich, chips and a drink. He smiled at them, "Thanks for holding down the fort Gaara, You can go now, your face is scaring away the girls."

Yuzuki watched as Gaara shot a death glare at his brother before getting up and casually walking away without saying a word. "Why did you put your brother in charge while you went out? Couldn't you have just put up an 'Out to lunch' sign?" Miyako asked once Gaara was out of listening range.

"Eh, he's my brother," the brunette shrugged. "Even if we hate each other I can still trust him. Plus he was just walking around doing nothing." He smirked at the peach haired girl and let his brown eyes shift to the girl standing behind her. "Oh-ho, Miyako why are you holding out on me!"

Yuzuki squeaked when he came around to face her completely. A blush tinted her face pink as her red eyes met his brown ones. "H-hello…" she murmured softly, fidgeting with the hem of her sweater.

"She's too adorable!" he looked up towards the other girl, "Where'd you find her?"

Miyako smirked at him, placing a hand on her hip, "This is my best friend Yuzuki. I found her on a train yesterday."

"Oh, out in the open. I did always peg you as a voyeur Miyako," he teased as he winked at the red eyed girl. She dropped her head in embarrassment, her glasses sliding down her nose.

"Kankuro, don't go gettin' all pervy on me now," she sighed heavily while shaking her head with disapproval.

He laughed as he stood up straight and walked back to the desk. "Nah, you know me anyways. I like my women experienced."

"Gross." Miyako muttered.

"What room girls?" he asked, plopping into the seat behind the desk.

"I'm kind of afraid to tell you now."

"Oh come on, don't be like that Miyako. It's all in good fun."

"Pfft! Liar. I hear the stories from the other girls."

"Well aren't you just the busy little bee."

"It pays to be as awesome as I am."

"Yeah, I bet," he chuckled. "What room?"

Miyako sighed, "412."

Kankuro riffled through a few drawers before finally slapping two keys down in front of them. The girls thanked him and began making their way back to their dorm. Yuzuki cast a glance back at the desk, watching as the brunette opened his bag of chips and leaned back in his chair, eating lazily. He was related to Gaara? That scary redhead with a scowl that could kill. But Kankuro was such a lighthearted and funny guy, how was that possible? Her fingers continued to play with her sweater. This was going to be tougher than she thought. I need to play some Glowlight tonight, she thought with an exhausted sigh.


	3. First Day

**A/N: My brain is dying from all this homework I have to get done and all the house cleaning I've been doing. Bah! But I finally finished the chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Yuzuki stood in front of the mirror watching as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip. Today was her official first day of school. She would be meeting countless more students today and the thought made her heart race. How would she cope with the overload of students? Fixing her glasses, she brought up a determined fist. She would make this work! There was nothing that was going to stop her from having that normal high school experience. And after her first day was over, she would relax with a massive session of Glowlight! She hadn't played in days because of her move, but now that she was settled she would unleash hell tonight. A fierceness ignited in her eyes as she thought about the kill streak she would achieve after school, until she saw Miyako's hunched over form.

Glancing over, she screamed and ran from the room as her friend sat on the toilet without so much as a warning. Slamming the door shut behind her, she shuddered, "You could warn a girl first ya know!"

"I tried!" Miyako hollered back. "You were lost in daydreaming land."

Yuzuki heard Miyako cackle from behind the door as she walked back to her room. She was so weird! Walking over to the medium sized mirror that hung on her wall, she looked at herself in it. Smoothing out her uniform, she tightened her minty ponytail and tried to make sure everything was in its place. She wanted to make a good first impression on her first day of meeting her teachers and classmates. The golden key around her neck caught her eye and she hid it behind her blue and white pin striped shirt. Jewelry was acceptable but she just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to it. If it were to disappear, she would be utterly devastated.

Turning away from the mirror, she looked through her backpack to make sure she had everything before zipping it closed. Walking over to her desk, she looked down at the transcripts and other official papers needed for her to get her class schedule and locker. As she picked them up, she felt her heart begin to race nervously and her hands begin to shake. Why was she so nervous? It was just school! Oh who was she kidding? It wasn't just school; it was a school in the city with completely different rules then one in the country. She shook her head. Now she was just psyching herself out. With a huff, she spun around on her foot and grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder and walked out of her room.

Setting her stuff down on the small bar in the kitchen, she grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it in her mouth. They really needed to go shopping. In fact, how did the students pay for food in their dorms? She knew that the cafeteria was open nearly twenty-four seven, but those times it wasn't, what did the students do? Garnet orbs shifted when she saw Miyako yawning as she lazily shuffled into the kitchen, her hair still a frizzled mess and pajamas still on.

"You know, you're going to be late for your first day," Yuzuki mumbled through bites of her bread.

Blue irises looked up at her with tired annoyance as she sat at the bar, "Nothing good happens on the first day. What's there to miss?"

"That's no reason to skip class Miyako!" Yuzuki scolded with a stern finger.

"You sound like my mother," she scoffed with a roll of her big eyes.

There was silence between them for a moment, the sound of the clock ticking. As Yuzuki took a bite of her bread, a sly smile spread across her pink lips, "I'll be sure to tell Kiba you were too busy drooling over the thought of jumping him to actually come to class."

"You wouldn't dare!" Miyako was glaring at the mint haired girl.

Yuzuki took the last bite of her bread before casually walking around the bar, grabbing her stuff. "Of course not!" she giggled sadistically as she made her way for the door with a skip in her step.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Miyako roared as she scrambled out of her seat and back into her bedroom.

She opened the door, "See you in class best friend!" she called in a sing song voice, closing the door behind her.

That should get her motivated to come to class. At least now she had some good blackmail to make Miyako do as she was told. Gripping the straps of her backpack, she smiled to herself as she made her way out of the Gemini Building. The moment she stepped outside she was greeted with the gentle morning breeze wafting through her hair. Her skirt rustled to the rolling wind and she bravely took her first steps towards the main school building. She wondered what there was to expect from the kids in Konoha. It had been so long since she's been in town that she had no clue who any of them were or how they acted. Of course, every town had certain stereotypes of people but she was hopeful that the people she would meet didn't meet those. She secretly wished they bent the norms and threatened society rules. Why? It would be fun!

Walking through the courtyard in the front of the compound, she watched all types of students walking towards the building. Some where alone, some were with friends and as she stared at them, she wondered if she would make any friends. Yuzuki never considered herself the social type, that was Miyako's department, but she did enjoy having friends and the company of others. Speaking of which, Yuzuki's eyes scanned the crowds of people looking for the three she had met over the weekend. They were her first friends from this school and really, they all knew more than she did, they could tell her all the ins and outs. Miyako could too being connected to everyone, but she knew her best friend way to well; she always wanted some sort of food payment for anything. And buying food for a bottomless pit got expensive.

"Heads up!" a voice shouted forcing Yuzuki back into reality.

She whipped her head to the side to see a ball heading straight for her face. She didn't have good reflexes or hand eye coordination, she wore glasses for heaven's sake! They expected her to miraculously duck out of the way? Yuzuki shut her eyes tight waiting for the imminent assault on her face when she heard a deafening _smack_.

"Don't worry my minty haired beauty!" a voice exclaimed causing her to open her eyes. "I will protect you from any harm." In front of her stood a young man with black hair cut into a bowl cut, the standard boys uniform on his rather lanky looking body.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, flashing her a smile that literally sparkled. Utterly taken by surprise at his ability to catch the ball with no effort in one hand, but the thickness of his eyebrows, she blushed and nodded a simple reply.

As the owners of the ball came jogging up, he handed them back their ball and suddenly swung around to face her completely. He took her hands in his, his black eyes staring deep into her red ones causing her to feel uneasy. "Will you go on a date with me?"

"Huh?" the question nearly made her falter on her feet. They didn't even know each other!

"With the full power of my youth, I wish to protect your intellectual beauty. And if I can't, I will run five hundred laps around the track on my hands." He gazed so deeply into her eyes, that she could see he was completely serious.

Yuzuki's eyes blinked behind her spectacles, "Uhm….I don't….I have…" She was at a complete loss for words honestly.

"Lee!" a girl's voice shouted sternly from behind him. She watched him go rigid, letting go of her hand and standing at attention. "Leave the girl alone would you?" A girl with brown hair put up into two buns and matching brown eyes walked up to them, her eyes glaring and hands on her hips. She two wore the darker version of their uniform, with the sweater tied around her waist and her sleeves rolled up.

Yuzuki watched as he dejectedly slumped forward, shuffling to the side as the girl stood in front of her. "Uhm…it's alright really. The question was just unepected."

The girl laughed, "Yeah well he asks out every girl he thinks is pretty. Every one of them have turned him down so far too."

"Tenten, why do you have to bring up such horrible things? My youth will win them over eventually!" Lee cried, his hand clenched into a fist of determination.

Tenten sighed with a slow shake of her head. "I'm sorry about him." The sound of the first bell caught all of their attention.

"Oh my gosh! I'm gonna be late! Uhm…" Yuzuki turned back to them and bowed her head, fixing her glasses as she brought her head back up. "Nice to meet all of you and, thank you Lee."

Quickly she turned on her heel and ran towards the massive building in front of them. Her quickened steps echoed in her ears as she ran into the building, bumping into someone along the way. Why was her morning turning into this? All she wanted to do was get her schedule and go to her classes. Why was she being plagued with a lazy roommate, being attacked by random sports equipment and running into people? Fixing her tipped glasses, she let her eyes wander up to the person in question she ran into. Black eyes glared down at her with a darkness that reminded her of the red headed boy she met yesterday. His black hair was long in the front, framing his face and a spiky, wild mess in the back. His black blazer was slung over his shoulder, tie loose around his neck, collared shirt unbuttoned at the top and black vest hanging loosely around his torso.

"I…I'm sorry…I…" she stammered, slowly getting to her feet.

His glare made her feel as if he were trying to set her on fire with his mind. "Watch where you're going." His voice was gruff and sounded bored but aggravated she had run into him.

"S-sorry…" she mumbled, staring down at her feet and blushing with embarrassment.

"Hey Uchiha, back off my girl," Miyako's forceful tone snapped from behind her.

Yuzuki looked over her shoulder, the boy following suit. Miyako stood at the threshold of the door with her arms crossed and a glare of superiority upon her face. Her peach hair was put up in a half ponytail, a signature look for her, while her uniform was once again as casual as she could make it. "Hn, Locke." He scoffed, with an upturn of his chin.

"Nice to see you again too Uchiha," she said as she walked up to them. Resting her weight onto her left leg, she crossed her arms under her rather large chest. "Can't you stop being a total jerk for five minutes just once in your life?"

He sent her a menacing glare, "Watch how you talk to me Locke. You may be at the top of the social ladder now, but I will rip you down if you continue to be a thorn in my side."

"Oooo," she laughed. "Such big words from the resident pretty boy. Don't you have something to brood over somewhere?" Miyako seemed completely unphased by his glare and sent him a confident smirk.

He stepped close to her, leaning in close and resting his lips against her ear. Yuzuki watched as her blue eyes glanced at him from the side. "We'll settle this during P.E. Locke." With those words said, he made his way around her and outside.

"I look forward to it." She grinned at Yuzuki, "There you are! I've been looking all over for you ya know."

Her red eyes blinked in confusion. "What was…did he just…" she was so lost. "What just happened?" she asked, feeling her brain may overload.

Miyako laughed as she placed a hand on her shoulder and led her further into the building. "Don't worry about it. That's just how Uchiha and I get along. He likes that someone gives him a run for his money. He's the type of guy that likes a challenge so we have a kind of…competition going on between us."

Yuzuki looked up from her shuffling feet to see they were standing in front of the principle's office. Glancing around, she noticed a few people looking at them but otherwise it didn't seem uncommon to the other students to see people at the office. Their stares made her feel so small. She hated attention, to be the center of everyone's eye and always felt a sense of anxiety when she was being stared at. Even if only a single person stared at her; she always felt judged and out of place. Miyako opened the door and shoved her inside with a cheeky grin and a wave. She looked back to see her best friend running down the hall, her thick peach hair swaying across her back.

With a heavy sigh and shake of her head, she walked up to the front desk that made up a portion of the front office. Sitting behind the desk was a mousy looking woman with thick black, curly hair and oval glasses. Her makeup was perfectly placed and her casual suit was neat and devoid of a single lint ball. The desk in which she saw was unusually clean, everything in its proper place. A packet of disinfectant wipes sat at the corner of the desk, open and waiting to be used. As Yuzuki placed her documentation on the desk to begin getting her necessary things, she took note that the woman was an obvious germaphobe.

The woman took the papers Yuzuki handed over and began typing away on her computer. As she leaned against the desk, tapping her fingers, she took the time to look around the office. It really wasn't all that spectacular. The floor was the same polished linoleum as the rest of the building, the walls covered in board n' back half way up and then clean white paint. Overall, it had to be the most boring office in the world. Nothing particularly spectacular about it, and Yuzuki didn't mind one single bit. She could hear the secretary punching keys on her computer and mumbling to herself absentmindedly; though she couldn't make out anything the woman was saying. Her eyes flickered over to the singular door that held a name plate drilled into it. 'Principle Senju'. As she was allowing her eyes to rove over every groove of the embossed plate, she caught movement inside the office.

Not earning a single muscle spasm from the secretary, the door to the office flung open with such force, the knob left a dent in the wall. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden outburst. She caught sight of the intimidating young man she had met just the day before; Gaara. Casually he strolled out of the office, hands stuffed in his pockets, his many earrings glimmering, the single topaz teardrop hanging around his neck, his red hair a wild mess and his green eyes lazily looking ahead of him. Yuzuki adjusted her glasses as she regained her composure, never hearing the woman trying to get her attention. She felt utterly trapped as his eyes glanced over to her without him so much as straining his neck. His lips never gave an upturn and his blank expression never changed as he stared at her from the corner of his eye while he made his way towards the door that led to the hall.

"Sabaku!" a woman hollered from the open office, a stapler flying through the air.

He didn't even need to look back as he tilted his head to the side, avoiding all contact the object might have made to the back of his head. The display seemed like an everyday occurrence to him as he gripped the doorknob and opened the door. Gaara stopped, glancing back over his shoulder at the girl still staring at him. He scoffed at her before leaving. Yuzuki felt uneasy as his cold green eyes stared at her. There was something behind the glittering they did that terrified the crap out of her!

"Miss Akiyama!" the secretary finally shouted causing Yuzuki to jump.

She quickly faced the woman who was glaring at her, "Oh, I…I'm so sorry!"

Quickly she grabbed her schedule and lock for her locker, before hastily making her way out of the office. While she had a valid excuse for no being on time, she still hated the idea of being late to class. Clutching her schedule tight in her hands, she ran down the hall while reading the contents of the paper. Homeroom was first; made sense.


End file.
